Florida

[agentsteel53]

Sadly US 27 is becoming sprawl city north of about Lake Wales.

My favorite high-speed surface road is US 441 where it parallels I-75 between Ocala and Gainesville. Four lanes, mostly 55-60 mph (it slows down a bit through towns), and hardly any traffic. Much more peaceful than I-75.

got it.  I was visualizing more like Tallahassee to I-75 when I thought of "US-27".  US-19 in the same general vicinity comes to mind as well.

[NE2]

As for the plan, one wonders why US 301 isn't on this map: http://www.flfuturecorridors.org/tampa_about.htm It's certainly part of the SIS.

[Alex]

Agreed on US 27, it is garbage as a through route because of the sprawl, especially from the Four Corners Area north to Clermont. Once you get south of Lake Placid it goes back to being a decent road.

One of my favored four-lane routes is US 19/98 north from Inglis to Perry and US 19/27 from Perry to Capps. Bypasses of Perry, Cross City, Fanning Springs, and Chiefland would be nice, but traffic is never an issue through those towns.

[Brian556]

What the...found this empty US highway shield on Glades County Road 721A

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=27.081213,-81.070819&spn=0.000038,0.025063&t=h&z=16&layer=c&cbll=27.081205,-81.07073&panoid=q-hJDNrHUIu7nvrbp1ac3A&cbp=12,327.82,,0,0

[jwolfer]

As for the plan, one wonders why US 301 isn't on this map: http://www.flfuturecorridors.org/tampa_about.htm It's certainly part of the SIS.

A link from I-75  to the First Coast Outer Beltway( SR 23) in Clay County would make sense.  Use 301 and the proposed Starke bypass perhaps.  Its right now around 20 miles, part of SR 16 is already a 65 MPH 4-lane highway with very little development near Camp Blanding

A upgraded 301 would be helpful with bypasses of Waldo and Lawtey along with the Starke bypass

[agentsteel53]

What the...found this empty US highway shield on Glades County Road 721A

that's not even all that close to any US highway.  about 15 miles to US-27.

I wonder what the purpose of the sign was.  maybe it was a blank that was repurposed to make another regulatory sign, and then the new verbiage fell off?  the sign does appear to be serving northbound traffic, so the southern sun would bake it every day.

[BamaZeus]

But the catch is that there is a CR sign 100 feet beyond the first one.  If anything, you'd figure the CR sign would be attached to the same pole as the weight limit sign.

[D-Dey65]

Agreed on US 27, it is garbage as a through route because of the sprawl, especially from the Four Corners Area north to Clermont. Once you get south of Lake Placid it goes back to being a decent road.

What they should've done with all that development was concentrate on putting it along frontage roads, and maybe adding a few more interchanges and even overpasses/underpasses with no access. Right now, they're rebuilding the interchange with US 27 & SR 50 as a cloverleaf interchange, and using South Grand Highway as the north-to-eastbound off-ramp. The trouble is, it doesn't include closing off the intersection with Hook Street.

One of my favored four-lane routes is US 19/98 north from Inglis to Perry and US 19/27 from Perry to Capps. Bypasses of Perry, Cross City, Fanning Springs, and Chiefland would be nice, but traffic is never an issue through those towns.

Well, in Chiefland, they did redesign the US 19/98/Alt 27/129 intersection roughly a decade ago, so that US Alt 27 would be further away from US 129, and made the old road a dead end. Not exactly a bypass, but it keeps the two intersections separate from each other, so that's still good.

[mefailenglish]

What the...found this empty US highway shield on Glades County Road 721A

that's not even all that close to any US highway.  about 15 miles to US-27.

I wonder what the purpose of the sign was.  maybe it was a blank that was repurposed to make another regulatory sign, and then the new verbiage fell off?  the sign does appear to be serving northbound traffic, so the southern sun would bake it every day.

This.  It's on the Seminole Brighton reservation and a few of the roads have these.  They are supposed to have some red writing on them (as I recall, it related to BIA), and that one's been "baked" away.  I thought I had a picture of one, but while I found my photo of the C-721A shield, I don't have one of the "US highway".

[roadman65]

Agreed on US 27, it is garbage as a through route because of the sprawl, especially from the Four Corners Area north to Clermont. Once you get south of Lake Placid it goes back to being a decent road.

What they should've done with all that development was concentrate on putting it along frontage roads, and maybe adding a few more interchanges and even overpasses/underpasses with no access. Right now, they're rebuilding the interchange with US 27 & SR 50 as a cloverleaf interchange, and using South Grand Highway as the north-to-eastbound off-ramp. The trouble is, it doesn't include closing off the intersection with Hook Street.

One of my favored four-lane routes is US 19/98 north from Inglis to Perry and US 19/27 from Perry to Capps. Bypasses of Perry, Cross City, Fanning Springs, and Chiefland would be nice, but traffic is never an issue through those towns.

Well, in Chiefland, they did redesign the US 19/98/Alt 27/129 intersection roughly a decade ago, so that US Alt 27 would be further away from US 129, and made the old road a dead end. Not exactly a bypass, but it keeps the two intersections separate from each other, so that's still good.

I was on that particular stretch a few weeks ago.  Fortunately there still is a segment between 4 Corners and Clermont that still is rural and 65 mph.  Of course it is a matter of time, before that gets developed and downgraded to arterial.

Hopefully, the FDOT, Florida Turnpike Enterprise, and the OOCEA will coordinate building the proposed SR 408 extension to Clermont as that might help some of the current traffic problems, but they need to act on the public opinion research the OOCEA allowed Central Florida residents to take part in to see the needs of commuters like us citizens that showed demand for a bypass of US 27.  Of course, the conclusion of the study showed that the SR 570 (Polk Parkway) and SR 408 would be connected via a new proposed expressway.  If they modified the plans somewhat and figure a way to add some extensions to it maybe from the SE part of the 570 loop around Lakeland and back to US 27 south of Lake Wales, you may have a through route or somewhat of one as this would, if built, connect with US 27 south of SR 50.

[roadman65]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/54480415@N08/8498752052/in/photostream

Another FL 536 type of sign showing up.  I have seen it to on the new FL 429 extension and in photos on other road sites in other states.  This, I guess, is the new trend, or at least the latest in Florida.

I think it is a splendid idea, as it shows the lane configurations in detail.

[PurdueBill]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/54480415@N08/8498752052/in/photostream

Another FL 536 type of sign showing up.  I have seen it to on the new FL 429 extension and in photos on other road sites in other states.  This, I guess, is the new trend, or at least the latest in Florida.

I think it is a splendid idea, as it shows the lane configurations in detail.

If they are going to do an arrow-per-lane sign, the least they could do is use the proper curved arrows.  I've made PowerPoint sign cartoons that had better arrows than that real sign! 

[NE2]

The one on Epcot Center Drive leaving Disney uses the proper curves. It's the OOCEA that uses the straight diagonals (which I don't think look that bad, personally).

[PurdueBill]

In my mind, the straight arrows on the OOCEA sign look too much like arrows suggesting that the exit is right there, like those on a gore sign or sign at the exit.  The properly-curved ones would imply that the exit is ahead, not right at the sign.

[roadman65]

I was traveling the FL 570 Polk Parkway, and there was construction taking place between Old Dixie Highway and Pace Road near Auburndale that had the EB Lanes closed and detoured all traffic onto nearby Berkley Road.  Therefore, I was unable to see if the Super 2 still exists between those two points.  Does anyone have an information if it still does, as Wikipedia and GSV still show evidence of old.  Plus from Pace Road to I-4 it was four lanes and looked like fresh asphalt, but it was 11 PM at night, so my view was naturally distorted.

Also, I am guessing that the Pace Road Sun Pass Only is the start of toll elimination on FL 570, as in Tampa the THEA eliminated cash tolls on the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway and now is exclusively open road tolling.  I know that someday we will have to all carry transponders, as for years it was talk of going open road all the way in many different places which would mean that it would eventually catch on and be everywhere! 

[NE2]

http://www.floridasturnpike.com/construction_current.cfm#polk

[Brian556]

[xcellntbuy]

The new Tamiami Trail/Everglades (US 41) bridge:

http://www.local10.com/news/Tamiami-Trail-Bridge-completed/-/1717324/19381180/-/jtt9w5/-/index.html

[Brian556]

The new Tamiami Trail/Everglades (US 41) bridge:

Thanks; I was just wondering about this. Google needs to update it's imagery of this area.
Normally I dislike tax money being spent on enviornmental studies for highways, ect, especially in Texas where there's not much to worry about. However, the Everglades are unique, and it's good to see that they are making an effort to somewhat undo man's earlier F-ups. Far as I'm concerned, they should've never dug all the canals in this area, or built the dikes around lake Okachobee. Yeah i know the Hurricane of 1928 pushed water out of the lake and killed about 2500 folks, but they should've told the rest to either move or live with the risk. It is neat how the natural water flow works (worked) in this area, and it should have never been disturbed. Man does not need to conquer/use every availible piece of land in existance.

It does sound like they spent more than nessesary to make the bridge higher than really needed.


On a unrelated note, check out these ovesized US 41 shields:
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=26.496539,-81.847093&spn=0.000038,0.025063&t=h&z=16&layer=c&cbll=26.496536,-81.847218&panoid=OmpTLEDj2-a7F2hWLjzwWg&cbp=12,290.32,,0,0

[D-Dey65]

The new Tamiami Trail/Everglades (US 41) bridge:

http://www.local10.com/news/Tamiami-Trail-Bridge-completed/-/1717324/19381180/-/jtt9w5/-/index.html

$81 million for a single two-lane bridge, and using money from BP oil spill compensation.

Something's really not right here.

[realjd]

The new Tamiami Trail/Everglades (US 41) bridge:

http://www.local10.com/news/Tamiami-Trail-Bridge-completed/-/1717324/19381180/-/jtt9w5/-/index.html

$81 million for a single two-lane bridge, and using money from BP oil spill compensation.

Something's really not right here.

Using BP oil spill compensation for environmental improvement projects seems appropriate to me.

[NE2]

What's not right is D-Dey's knee. It's jerking.

[formulanone]

What's not right is D-Dey's knee. It's jerking.

He's got a point; The Everglades weren't technically affected by the spill. The Panhandle was, however (among other Gulf regions). There's been talk of the raised bridge for a while, I do recall talk about it back in 2007 or so, which predates the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

Still, money flows one way or another, it just never seems to wash ashore immediately.

[D-Dey65]

Okay, here's another thing that puzzles me about the so-called "Sunshine State;"

I'm working on a Wikipedia article for Florida State Road 276, and I saw some images of Google Street View showing a sign directing motorists to either State Road 73 or US 90 Business in Marianna.

I know SR 73 is overlapped by US 90 in that town, but where the hell is BUS US 90 there?

[realjd]

Okay, here's another thing that puzzles me about the so-called "Sunshine State;"

I'm working on a Wikipedia article for Florida State Road 276, and I saw some images of Google Street View showing a sign directing motorists to either State Road 73 or US 90 Business in Marianna.

I know SR 73 is overlapped by US 90 in that town, but where the hell is BUS US 90 there?

I'd guess it's mis-signed. I don't know that there are any BUS US90 roads in FL.